North Codorus Township residents worry about crashes along Route 616

Two vehicles have struck homes, causing damage, in the last six months. Another crash involved a near miss of a home.

Harry and Shirley Wildasin on the front porch of their home on Seven Valleys Road in North Codorus Township. The couple's home was hit by a car in July this year. They were displaced for four months while their home was repaired. DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - KATE PENN (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -)

York, PA -

Harry and Shirley Wildasin sat in their freshly repaired home and talked about an unusual spate of crashes in their block on Seven Valleys Road in North Codorus Township.

Two vehicles ran off the road and struck homes -- including the Wildasins' -- damaging the foundations. A third vehicle drove off the road and narrowly missed another house along this stretch of Route 616.

"It's three accidents in six months," Harry Wildasin said.

Residents in the neighborhood said vehicles fly up and down the road. They will not back out of their driveways because it's not safe. And they think something needs to be done about it.

On July 21 this truck crashed into Harry and Shirley Wildasin's home in North Codorus Township. DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - SUBMITTED (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS -)

Southwestern Regional Police Chief Gregory Bean said 14 crashes happened on this stretch of road last year. Ten were attributed to rear-end collisions or from vehicles entering Route 616 from another road.

"This is too many," he wrote in an email.

While Bean said he agrees that speed is a factor, it was not the main cause in the three wrecks the residents talked about.

The driver of the pickup that crashed into the Wildasins' house last summer was charged with driving under the influence, he said.

Last month, an 85-year-old driver apparently pushed on the accelerator instead of the brake that sent her vehicle into a home, Bean said.

And earlier this month, a driver said she hit a patch of ice, which sent her vehicle off the road and close to a house.

Sherrie Cole, who also lives in the 1500 block of Seven Valleys Road, told the Wildasins that during the latest crash, she thought someone hit their camper. Cole lived a few doors away from the crash scene.

The speed limit in this area of Route 616 is 45 mph. This wide open, curvy stretch of Route 616 is not conducive to run speed details using "archaic speed timing devices," Bean said.

Pennsylvania does not allow municipal police to use radar, which would be "the only way to effectively monitor speed at this location," he wrote in the email.

"We'll certainly do what we can," he said. "I wish we could do more."

Residents said they thought about putting big rocks -- or boulders -- in front of their properties to prevent a vehicle from striking their home. But they were advised against doing so.

That's because the property owner could be held liable if someone is injured by hitting the rocks, said Fritzi Schreffler, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

The Wildasins said they were displaced from their home for four months while an insurance company made repairs to the house.

"It actually took four months out of our lives," Shirley Wildasin said, adding that they didn't keep their great-grandchildren during that time as much as they normally did.

The Wildasins said they have lived in the house for 53 years. Things have happened but never to this extent, Shirley Wildasin said.

Traci Hilferding, who lives in the 1500 block, said her mailbox was taken out by the crash earlier this month.

Someone joked that her house is next. Hilferding, who is the mother of a toddler, said she responded that she didn't need to hear that.

"It's getting a little close for comfort," she said.

About the crashes

July 21, 2012: A pickup heading northbound left the road at a high rate of speed and struck Harry and Shirley Wildasin's home. The driver, 52-year-old Junior White III of North Codorus Township, suffered severe injuries. He was charged with driving under the influence. The case is moving through the courts.

Police added that prior to the crash, White had been involved in a domestic dispute but left the scene before the officers' arrival. While could not be reached for comment.

Jan. 7, 2013: An 85-year-old driver left a business in the area and is suspected of pushing on the accelerator instead of the brake. Her vehicle traveled off the road and hit a home.

Feb. 4, 2013: A 24-year-old driver told police she hit a patch of ice and her vehicle spun several times. The vehicle traveled off the road, shearing off a pole and coming close to a home. The driver suffered moderate injuries.